Eagles fly on Liverpool’s jet to London today

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki with Super Eagles players and officials when he visited the team ahead of their Russia 2018 World Cup trip in Abuja… yesterday.

President Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick said yesterday that the jet, which took Liverpool to their failed UEFA Champions League final match against Real Madrid in Kiev, would take the Super Eagles to London today for the international friendly against the English national team on Saturday.

Players and officials of the team have been scheduled to take off to London soon after the team’s courtesy visit to President Muhammad Buhari at the Presidential Villa.

Pinnick said the same Jet will, after Saturday’s friendly with England, take the Eagles to Austria for final preparation for the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia, which kicks off on June 14.

Speaking after a seminar on investment for the Eagles in Abuja, Pinnick beaming with smiles, said: “We’re for the FIFA World Cup in Russia. You can see that we’ve done everything we need to do based on our arrangements. And we’re religiously keeping faith in terms of the preparation.

“I don’t think there is any cause for alarm. So, we’re trying as much as possible to do our best. And everything we are doing is set to motivate the team. Even talking about their future, is to motivate the team so that they can bring in their best. Everything we’re doing is to enhance their performance at the World Cup in Russia. And the seminar we just had, which is the first of its kind in the history of the Super Eagles and Nigerian football, was to motivate the team and to ensure that we care about them now and their future,” Pinnick said.

The NFF boss stressed that giving the players the desired comfort would enhance their performance at the Russia World Cup.

“We’re not the ones to kick the ball. We’re merely doing our beat, and all we need to do is to give them A-Z of what they requested – comfort, hospitality, proper funding, and proper preparation. And those are the things we are going to give them,” Pinnick added.

He maintained his earlier stance that the Super Eagles would win the FIFA World Cup trophy in Russia and added that his prayer is to realise the dream.

He added, however, “I won’t be disappointed if the expectations are not met. To me, that’s football. When Mo Salah was going on to the pitch, he was hoping to be the World Footballer of the Year, but something happened and he was taken out after 35 minutes. That’s football. It can go either way. And I always make the players to know that it is eleven players per side, and should not look at Messiah; look at the ball; look at the pitch; look at your team mates. We talk to them and we live like a family”.

The Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi in his remark after the seminar, urged the players to consider investing as such venture could see the players riding in Bentleys in time to come.